Pheosia gnoma
Encyclopedia
The Lesser Swallow Prominent (Pheosia gnoma) is a moth
from the family Notodontidae
.
The moth can be found in selected parts of Eurasia
. It has a forward wing length of 20–26 mm. The moth survives winter as a pupa
underground.
The imago
can be easily mistaken with Pheosia tremula
. Except the latter is bigger and the white figure at the back of the forward wing is smaller with Pheosia tremula.
The host plant of the Lesser Swallow Prominent is the birch
.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
from the family Notodontidae
Notodontidae
Notodontidae is a family of moths with approximately 3,500 known species. Moths of this family are found in all parts of the world, but they are most concentrated in tropical areas, especially in the New World...
.
The moth can be found in selected parts of Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
. It has a forward wing length of 20–26 mm. The moth survives winter as a pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
underground.
The imago
Imago
In biology, the imago is the last stage of development of an insect, after the last ecdysis of an incomplete metamorphosis, or after emergence from the pupa where the metamorphosis is complete...
can be easily mistaken with Pheosia tremula
Pheosia tremula
The Swallow Prominent is a moth from the family Notodontidae.The moth can be found in selected parts of Europe, up to the Arctic Circle. It has a forward wing length of 22–28 mm. The moth survives winter as a pupa underground....
. Except the latter is bigger and the white figure at the back of the forward wing is smaller with Pheosia tremula.
The host plant of the Lesser Swallow Prominent is the birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
.